A navigation apparatus acquires, through an antenna and a receiver, external information such as traffic information or the like, and a control unit in the navigation apparatus acquires validity time information from the external information. If the validity time information includes a standard time that represents a current time, the standard time together with a relative time or period information in the validity time information is used for determining whether a valid period has passed. If the validity time information does not include the standard time representing the current time, the lapse of the valid period is determined based on the standard time generated by a standard time generator and one of the relative time and the period information in the validity time information. Then, the external information is invalidated by deleting the information from an information storage if it is determined that the valid period has passed.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. An information processing apparatus for a movable body comprising: an external information storage unit configured to acquire and store at least external information including validity time information for defining a valid period of the external information; a valid period acquisition unit configured to acquire a valid period of the external information acquired by the external information storage unit; an external information invalidation unit configured to invalidate the external information stored in the external information storage unit, when it is determined that the valid period of the external information has expired by examining the valid period of the external information; and a current time acquisition unit configured to acquire a current time, wherein when the valid period acquired by the valid period acquisition unit includes a standard time and a relative time relative to the standard time, the external information invalidation unit determines whether the valid period of the external information has expired based on the relative time and the standard time, when the valid period includes the relative time and does not include the standard time, the external information invalidation unit determines whether the valid period of the external information has expired based on the relative time and the current time acquired by the current acquisition unit, and when the valid period of the external information is determined as expired, the external information invalidation unit invalidates the external information by avoiding use of the external information stored in the external information storage unit and by moving the external information to a non-use area that stores the external information as non-use information.
An information processing apparatus for use in a moving object (like a car) manages external data, such as traffic or weather updates, by checking its validity. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the external information storage unit acquires traffic information as the external information.
The information processing apparatus described in the previous claim acquires traffic information as the external information and manages the validity of the traffic data based on the time information received with the traffic data. The apparatus stores the traffic information along with validity time information that defines how long the traffic data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired traffic data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
3. The information processing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the external information storage unit acquires weather information as the external information.
The information processing apparatus, which acquires traffic information as external data, as previously described, also acquires weather information as external data. The apparatus stores the traffic and weather information along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
4. The information processing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the information processing apparatus is incorporated in a vehicle navigation apparatus.
The information processing apparatus, which acquires traffic information as external data and manages its validity as previously described, is integrated into a vehicle navigation system. The apparatus stores the traffic information along with validity time information that defines how long the traffic data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired traffic data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use within the vehicle navigation system.
5. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the external information storage unit acquires weather information as the external information.
The information processing apparatus described in the first claim acquires weather information as the external information and manages the validity of the weather data based on the time information received with the weather data. The apparatus stores the weather information along with validity time information that defines how long the weather data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired weather data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
6. The information processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the information processing apparatus is incorporated in a vehicle navigation apparatus.
The information processing apparatus, which acquires weather information as external data and manages its validity as previously described, is integrated into a vehicle navigation system. The apparatus stores the weather information along with validity time information that defines how long the weather data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired weather data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use within the vehicle navigation system.
7. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus is a vehicle navigation apparatus configured to be installed in a vehicle.
The information processing apparatus described in the first claim, which manages the validity of external data, is a vehicle navigation system intended to be installed in a car or other vehicle. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
8. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a standard time generation unit capable of generating a standard time for representing the current time, wherein when the validity time information does not include the standard time, the information invalidation unit determines whether the valid period of the external information has expired based on the relative time and the standard time that is generated by the standard time generation unit.
The information processing apparatus described in the first claim, which manages the validity of external data, includes a time generator if the received external data does not contain a standard time reference. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses an internal time generator to obtain a current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
9. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the information invalidation unit invalidates the external information by deleting the external information stored in the external information storage unit.
The information processing apparatus described in the first claim, which manages the validity of external data, invalidates expired information by completely deleting it from storage. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is deleted.
10. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the information invalidation unit invalidates the external information by avoiding use of the external information stored in the external information storage unit.
The information processing apparatus described in the first claim, which manages the validity of external data, invalidates expired information by preventing its use, while still storing it. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is not deleted, but is ignored by the system.
11. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the validity time information specifies an expiration date when the external information is considered to be no longer valid.
The information processing apparatus described in the first claim, which manages the validity of external data, uses a specific expiration date embedded within the validity time information to determine when the external information is no longer valid. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information that defines how long the data is good for. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" (offset) it checks the expiry based on these two values. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry based on the expiration date. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area instead of deleting, preventing its further use.
12. An information processing apparatus for a movable body comprising: an external information storage unit configured to acquire and store at least external information including validity time information for defining a valid period of the external information; a valid period acquisition unit configured to acquire a valid period of the external information acquired by the external information storage unit; an external information invalidation unit configured to invalidate the external information stored in the external information storage unit, when it is determined that the valid period of the external information has expired by examining the valid period of the external information; and a current time acquisition unit configured to acquire a current time, wherein when the valid period acquired by the valid period acquisition unit includes a standard time and a relative time relative to the standard time, the external information invalidation unit determines whether the valid period of the external information has expired or not by examining whether the standard time is within the valid period of the period information, and the external information invalidation unit determines the expiration of the external information that is already stored by the external information storage unit, when the valid period includes the relative time and does not include the standard time, the external information invalidation unit determines whether the valid period of the external information has expired based on the relative time and the current time acquired by the current acquisition unit, and when the valid period of the external information is determined as expired, the external information invalidation unit invalidates the external information by avoiding use of the external information stored in the external information storage unit and by moving the external information to a non-use area that stores the external information as non-use information.
An information processing apparatus for use in a moving object manages external data by checking its validity. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" offset, it verifies if the standard time falls within the validity period indicated by the relative time. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area.
13. The information processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the external information storage unit acquires traffic information as the external information.
The information processing apparatus described in the previous claim acquires traffic information as the external information and manages the validity of the traffic data based on the time information received with the traffic data. The apparatus stores the traffic information along with validity time information. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" offset, it verifies if the standard time falls within the validity period indicated by the relative time. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired traffic data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area.
14. The information processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the external information storage unit acquires weather information as the external information.
The information processing apparatus, which manages the validity of external data, also acquires weather information as external data. The apparatus stores the weather information along with validity time information. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" offset, it verifies if the standard time falls within the validity period indicated by the relative time. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area.
15. The information processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the information processing apparatus is a vehicle navigation apparatus configured to be installed in a vehicle.
The information processing apparatus, which manages the validity of external data, is integrated into a vehicle navigation system. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" offset, it verifies if the standard time falls within the validity period indicated by the relative time. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid by moving it to a non-use area for use within the vehicle navigation system.
16. The information processing apparatus of claim 12 further comprising a standard time generation unit capable of generating a standard time for representing the current time, wherein when the validity time information does not include the standard time, the information invalidation unit determines whether the valid period of the external information has expired by examining whether the standard time that is generated by the standard time generation unit is within the valid period of the period information.
The information processing apparatus described in the twelfth claim, which manages the validity of external data, includes a time generator if the received external data does not contain a standard time reference. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" offset, it verifies if the standard time generated internally falls within the validity period indicated by the relative time. If only a relative time is present, it uses an internal time generator to obtain a current time to determine expiry. Expired data is marked as invalid.
17. The information processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the validity time information specifies an expiration date when the external information is considered to be no longer valid.
The information processing apparatus described in the twelfth claim, which manages the validity of external data, uses a specific expiration date embedded within the validity time information to determine when the external information is no longer valid. The apparatus stores the external data along with validity time information. It retrieves this validity time, and if the time includes both a fixed "standard time" and a "relative time" offset, it verifies if the standard time falls within the validity period. If only a relative time is present, it uses the device's current time to determine expiry based on the expiration date. Expired data is moved to a non-use area.
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June 6, 2008
June 11, 2013
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